Security forces storm protester-held Egypt mosque

ASSOCIATED PRESS

August 18, 2013 12:01 AM

Egyptians security forces escort an Islamist supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood out of the al-Fatah mosque, after hundreds of Islamist protesters barricaded themselves inside the mosque overnight, following a day of fierce street battles that left scores of people dead, near Ramses Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013. Authorities say police in Cairo are negotiating with people barricaded in a mosque and promising them safe passage if they leave. Muslim Brotherhood supporters of Egypt's ousted Islamist president are vowing to defy a state of emergency with new protests today, adding to the tension. (AP Photo/Hussein Tallal)AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

August 18, 2013 12:01 AM

CAIRO -- Egyptian security forces stormed a Cairo mosque Saturday after a heavy exchange of gunfire with armed men shooting down from a minaret, rounding up hundreds of supporters of the country's ousted president who had sought refuge there overnight after violent clashes killed 173 people.

The raid on the al-Fath mosque on Ramses Square was prompted by fears that deposed President Mohammed Morsi's group, the Muslim Brotherhood, again planned to set up a sit-in, security officials said, similar to those that were broken up Wednesday in assaults that killed hundreds of people.

The arrest of the brother of al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri came in connection to the raid on the mosque. Officials said that he planned to bring in armed groups to provide support to those holed up inside the mosque.

Mohammed al-Zawahri, a Morsi ally, is the leader of the ultraconservative Jihadi Salafist group which espouses al-Qaida's hard- line ideology. He was detained at a checkpoint in Giza, across the Nile from Cairo, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to brief journalists.

The Egyptian government, meanwhile, announced it had begun deliberations on whether to ban the Brotherhood, a long-outlawed organization that swept to power in the country's first democratic elections a year ago.

Such a ban -- which authorities say is rooted in the group's use of violence -- would be a repeat to the historic and decades-long power struggle between the state and the Brotherhood.

For more than a month since the July 3 military overthrow of Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters have attacked and torched scores of police stations and churches in retaliation. Shops and houses of Christians have been targeted.

Such attacks spurred widespread public anger against the Brotherhood, giving the military-backed government popular backing to step up its campaign against the Islamist group. It reminded people of a decade-long Islamist insurgency against Mubarak's rule in the 1990s which only strengthened security agencies and ended up with thousands of Islamic fundamentalists in prisons.

The assault on the mosque began Friday, as pro-Morsi protesters and armed men fled into the worship center to avoid angry vigilantes and arrest. They piled furniture in the entrance to block authorities and enraged anti-Morsi protesters.